Reading Theme:

Language:

Font Size:

📕 rednote ID(小红书号)：3881567312

Seed Meaning: Definition, Examples & Usage (2 meaning)

Meaning 1：plant reproductive unit (seed)

seed 🔊

/siːd/

A small, hard part of a plant that you put in the ground to grow a new plant.

Child's hand holding sunflower, chia, and watermelon seeds

plant reproductive unit 🔊

➕

/plænt rɪˈprɒdʌktɪv ˈjuːnɪt/

A seed is a mature ovule containing an embryo, stored nutrients, and a protective coat, capable of developing into a new plant under suitable conditions.

📁 Category：Botany Research 🔖 Level：beginner

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From Old English 'sæd', from Proto-Germanic *sēdiz, meaning 'that which is sown'.

💡 Mnemonic

See a 'seed' as a tiny 'C' (like a curve) that holds the potential to grow into a full plant.

📖 Example

He carefully placed a sunflower seed in the moist soil of his garden. 🔊 He carefully placed a sunflower seed in the moist soil of his garden.

🔗 Collocations

plant seeds – to place seeds in soil to grow

sow seeds – to scatter seeds over the ground for growing

seed germination – the process by which a seed begins to grow

🔄 Synonyms

germ (n.) – the embryo of a seed, especially of a cereal grain

embryo (n.) – the early developmental stage of a plant contained within the seed

kernel (n.) – the soft, edible part of a seed or the whole seed of a grain

🚫 Antonyms

fruit (n.) – the mature seed-bearing part of a plant, often harvested after the seed has grown

plant (n.) – a fully grown living organism that develops from a seed

🌱 Derivatives

seedling (n.) – a young plant that has grown from a seed

seedless (adj.) – having no seeds

seedy (adj.) – full of seeds; also used metaphorically meaning shabby or disreputable

📖 Cultural Story

The word 'seed' has been used since Old English for plant reproduction. In modern culture, it metaphorically represents the origin of ideas, as in 'plant the seed of doubt'.

Meaning 2：initial spark of an idea (seed)

seed 🔊

/siːd/

The very small beginning from which something larger develops, like an idea or a plan.

Glowing light bulb with floating dandelion seed representing idea

initial spark of an idea 🔊

➕

/ɪˈnɪʃəl spɑːk əv ən aɪˈdɪə/

A seed in a metaphorical sense refers to the small, crucial beginning that can develop into a larger idea, plan, or situation.

📁 Category：Culture & History 🔖 Level：intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Example

Their chance meeting planted the seed of a lifelong friendship. 🔊 Their chance meeting planted the seed of a lifelong friendship.

🔗 Collocations

plant a seed of doubt – to introduce a small doubt that grows into uncertainty

sow the seeds of success – to take early actions that lead to future prosperity

seed of change – the initial factor that triggers a transformation

🔄 Synonyms

germ (n.) – the early stage or origin of something (e.g., the germ of an idea)

origin (n.) – the point where something begins or arises

source (n.) – a place, person, or thing from which something comes or is obtained

🚫 Antonyms

result (n.) – the final outcome or consequence after development

end (n.) – the final stage or termination of a process